GLOBAL ship management company V.Group has announced the appointment of Bjoern Sprotte as chief executive officer, Ship Management.

Based in Hamburg and reporting directly to V.Group CEO, René Kofod-Olsen, Sprotte replaces Franck Kayser, who has requested to refocus his overall responsibilities and will be assuming leadership of the Group’s important activities in Denmark.

Sprotte joins V.Group from OSM Maritime Group, where he spent four years in a number of senior roles, including chief operating officer, president and, most recently, chief executive officer.

His career started at Rickmers Group, where he rose from nautical officer to CEO of maritime services over a period of fifteen years, from which he moved to the position of vice president at Carnival Group, where he was responsible for the development and delivery of ship management strategy.

René Kofod-Olsen said of his appointment:

“I am delighted to welcome Bjoern to V.Group.  He has an extensive depth and breadth of experience in the maritime industry and possesses the commercial, technical and operational skills and knowledge to deliver sustainable benefits to our customers.

“Franck has made a significant contribution to V.Group over the last two and a half years. He will assume the role of managing director, Denmark and will focus his energy on strategic growth opportunities in this important market, with a view to growing both our ship management and broader service offerings.

“Having both Franck and Bjoern in V.Group adds significant leadership strength which will serve us well as we continue to develop the Group.”

On joining V.Group, Sprotte said:

“The global maritime industry is in a transition towards decarbonisation, while response to COVID-19 continues to influence safe and efficient ship operations. V.Group provides strong support to customers and crew through a breadth of service offerings and capabilities, underpinned by a state-of-the-art digital platform and a truly global presence. I am delighted to join the team and look forward to working closely with our customers to further support and enable their success.”